Moon Shadows: Chronicles of a Fallen Pack
by Selidor
Summary: Life has been great for the Jasper Park Wolf Packs since their combining into one. The future pack leaders continuously show promise and food is plentiful. But when a lone wolf suddenly appears from no where will it prove a burden or a blessing?


_***Hello everyone. I've been a writer for awhile now but this is only my second story to post and my first fanfiction. I hope you all like it. Of course I don't own the cast from Alpha and Omega as much as I would love to. I may add in requested OCs but for now I only the ones whome I enter. ENJOY!**_

A cold wind rippled through Jasper National Park. Winter was well underway. The dense forest of evergreens danced about haphazardly in the wind, showering the ground with their powdered coats. The world was set aglow with the blue tinted light of the full moon. The only sound was the distant howling of wolves. Out of the shadows of a low hanging branch stepped a lone figure. A wolf as black as the shadow from which he had emerged.

His right hind leg nearly gave way as he stepped forward, causing him to stumble forward a few feet. As he hit the full light of the moon the red tinge of the fur on his right side became apparent. His blood slowly dripped from his abdomen. His head swayed to and fro and he blinked several times through the pain. His eyes glazed in his blood loss, shone emerald green. He staggered forward a few feet more. His only drive the howls of his own kind.

Finally his legs gave way and he crashed into the soft blanket of white which lay beneath him. Pain rushed through him and he howled raggedly through his clenched jaws. Panting, his head lifted just slightly toward the moon, catching it within his sights just as a cloud bank moved to cover it's beauty. As darkness blanketed the world, so did it engulf his consciousness...

The mountain side flooded with the members of the pack slowly making their way down. The moonlight howl and been called short due to cloud cover. At the very rear of the descending crowd were the four future leaders of the pack. Kate, Humphrey, Lilly, and Garth. Humphrey looked to his mate, her fur a complete contrast to the winter world around them. He couldn't help but stare. Kate notice this out of the corner of her eye and giggled, "And what exactly is it that has caught your attention so suddenly"?

Humphrey shook his head, "Well, I couldn't help but think back to last spring. I think maybe you may have beaten your all time record for shortest howl". She giggled once more thinking back those eight months prior. Basking in how wonderful they had been with him by her side. She turned back to him, " And as I remember you were right there with me just as you are now. So, you can't lay that award on me alone".

Slowly the scenery turned from the rocky mountain top back to the forest they called home. A strong cold wind had emptied most of the trees of their snow and they now shown deep green in the night. Lilly and Garth had hung back for awhile now and were steadily whispering and giggling. Humphrey looked up and yawned widely to tired to pay it much attention. Kate on the other hand couldn't help but smile at the two. Humphrey looked to her, his sleepiness apparent on his face, and smiled along with her for no other reason than having seen her do so.

They made it to the halfway point between their two dens and said their goodnights. Kate and Humphrey going one way and Lilly and Garth the other. They hadn't made it more than five steps when Garth stopped. Another strong wind had shot through the forest. He turned back to the other two and called to Kate, "Hey, Kate do you smell that"? A look of suspicion was already upon her face.

"Yeah, I do." she replied in a very serious tone. Humphrey hearing this stuck his nose to the wind and sniffed. It took him a moment but soon he smelled it too. The scent of blood. Lilly had been testing the air at the same moment and turned to Garth with a questioning look on her face.

"I smell something odd, but I honestly don't know what it is." Lilly kept watching his face with a confused look on hers. Garth looked to her slightly worried, "It's blood. The thing is it's not just blood but wolf's blood and I don't recognize the scent. I wonder if we are the only ones to have noticed it".

By this time Kate and Humphrey and walked back to the other two. Humphrey was wide awake and spoke up, "I think we should check it out. Just in case. We are to lead the pack one day. We mind as well start pulling our weight in that aspect".

Kate looked to him, "I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I don't recognize the scent either and we don't know what hurt who ever is out there. We may need more than just ourselves... I suppose we could go in quietly though and try not to be seen. If there is danger we should be able to see it before it sees us". They all nodded and started off toward the scent with Kate and Garth in the lead.

Lilly had stayed quiet through most of the conversation and now she walked halfheartedly next to Humphrey with her tale sagging between her legs. He looked over to her slightly worried, "You alright"?

"I-I'm fine. I just don't like this." she replied, her head down and her hair across her face. He hadn't seen her wear it like that in awhile. Humphrey nudged her a little, "Aw, come on pep up. We are Omegas. We're suppose to be the comic relief in these serious situations. Plus look who we have with us. The most successful Alphas in the combined packs and on top of that we are their mates. Nothing will happen".

She smiled slightly at this. Realizing how foolish she was being, "You're right". Kate looked back and noticed Lilly and Humphrey had fallen behind, "Hey you two keep up. We don't want to be separated." They sped up until they were back in formation. It took them nearly twenty minutes before they entered the area from which the scent originated. As they drew near Garth and Kate instructed the other two to stay low and stay quiet as they moved through the dead underbrush and that if they said run to run regardless of what they heard or saw.

At this distance Humphrey could clearly recognize the scent for what it was and he could tell by the way Lilly cringed she could as well. The only injuries within the pack which had produced this strong scent were the gouge wounds from hunts gone wrong. Whoever was out here was either dead or very soon would be. Shadows danced in every direction as they moved silently, scouting the area.

They spent nearly ten minutes of this before they spotted it. The black form splayed in the snow. A layer of red clearly visible around it. Kate and Garth signaled for them to wait here, and they slowly disappeared off in separate directions. To Humphrey it felt like an eternity. He was on the verge of taking off after Kate. Five minutes had past before their return. They stood at full height and Kate called to the two hiding, "Its all clear. There doesn't seem to be anything in the area".

With a sigh of relief Humphrey and Lilly made their way over to their mates and the group then preceded to the body. They examined it and discovered it to be male. They also found a rather large but shallow gash along his side. It hadn't penetrated into his ribcage but had bled profusely before freezing closed.

The group turned to one another. Humphrey spoke first, "What do you think we should do"? Kate sighed looking back at the wolf laying before them, "Well, he isn't part of either pack but we don't know him to be a threat either. He could have just been a lone wolf in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think we should take him to my parents den. My mother can treat his wound and of course we all can help to decide what to do with him. What do you think Garth"?

Garth looked to the sky before answering, "My father always taught me to kill any strange wolf we would find on our land and I had always believed that right, but now I suppose my mind set has changed. I agree". They all nodded to the decision. Kate and Humphrey helped to gently place the injured wolf upon Garth's back. As they did so a moan escaped the wolf's lips verifying that he was indeed still alive. Garth being the strongest it was decided that he should carry him.

It took nearly thirty minutes for them to reach the crossroads where they had first smelled the scent. Everyone remained quiet all the way. Kate and Humphrey walked flank to flank for warmth and just for an excuse to be close and Lilly stayed right by Garth lending support where she could. Even though he knew he didn't need it. It made him happy that she would go through the trouble. Another seven minutes passed before they reached the Kate's parent's den.

She turned to the group and spoke softly, "I'll go in and get them". No one had any objections to this and so they waited as she made her way inside. "Kate?" they heard a male voice from inside, it obviously belonged to her father Winston, "What are you doing here so late? Is everything alright"?

"Well, dad we need your and mom's help." She replied to his question. Another female voice came form the den, it was of course Kate's mother Eve, "What is it honey"? Eve had long since stopped blaming Humphrey for every little thing and had grown to like him for the happiness he brought her daughter.

Kate's voice returned, "It would be easier to show you". The group could hear foot steps from within the den and soon Kate, her mother, and her father emerged. It didn't take long for them to notice Garth's load and they rushed over. Eve nearly instantly went to work going through how to close the wound that was so apparent. "Bring him inside." was all she spoke. Everyone followed and soon had the wolf inside and to the back of the den where Eve worked at him with different herbs and leaf bandages.

Winston turned to the small group a look of worry on his face, "Alright, what happened and who is he"? It took a moment but Kate stepped forward, "We don't really know. We were on our way back from the moonlight howl when a strong wind brought the scent of blood to us. We decided it would be a good idea to check it out since a small group would be able to move without being seen." Winston nodded at this, "When we arrived we found him like that. Me and Garth checked the area but there were no other abnormal scents. So we decided it best to bring him here for you and mom to decide what to do".

Winston nodded once more, "You did the right thing. We need to find out who he is before we decide what to do though. Eve honey how does he look". Eve looked up a large leaf between her teeth. She set it down gently before speaking, "I could be here awhile. The wound froze over and stopped the bleeding, but now it's causing a rather bad fever". She quickly set back to her work.

Winston turned back to the group of young wolves, "Well, as she said it could be awhile. You all should head back to your respective dens and get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Kate, for the hunt".

"Alright, goodnight dad." she replied. Everyone else had remained silent through all this not knowing what to contribute. Lilly turned to her father, "Goodnight dad".

Garth and Humphrey spoke in unison, "Goodnight sir". As they made their way out of the den Winston turned his attention back to his wife as she worked feverishly at the task of healing. He made his way over and offered to help in anyway he could knowing that she would not except any but still appreciated the offer. With that done he made his way to their sleeping corner in the den and lay there thinking of what this event would bring to his pack.

_***Suprisingly this didn't take as long as I thought it would. I know it isn't very long but I thought I would start small and see if people actualy like it. Review please. I can;t wait to hear your feed back. (Flamer comments will be used as currency to buy more keyboard ink. -wink- )**_


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